Articles

35 Archaeological Textiles Newsleter No. 53

Olga Ornskaya and Tamara Pushkina
10th century AD textiles from
female burial -301 at
Gnzdovo, Russia
The Gnzdovo archaeological site dated to the
10th-11th century AD comprises several barrow
cemeteries and a setlement. It is situated on the bank
of the Dnieper River near the village of Gnzdovo,
some 12 km west of the city of Smolensk, which lies
378 km southwest of Moscow. It is one of the most
important medieval sites in Russia.
1
The population
of the setlement consisted mainly of Scandinavians
and Slavs. Among them there were artisans, e.g.,
smiths, jewelers, poters and bone-carvers, warriors
and merchants. Ethnic and social atribution of the
persons buried in the Gnzdovo barrows is based on
the analysis of mortuary practices and grave goods.
In the Gnzdovo barrows cremations prevail over
inhumations. Textile remains have been encountered
and recorded in 12 of the total of 116 excavated
inhumations. The overall majority of these nds are
minute fragments having survived owing to contact
with metal. The only exception is the discovery
of a bundle of fabrics in a burial excavated by the
Smolensk archaeological expedition of Moscow State
University in 1982. The materials of the burial were
included in a publication dealing with the three most
interesting chamber tombs of Gnzdovo known by
the late 1980s (Avdusin and Pushkina 1989, 190-205),
while fabrics from the site were studied partially in
M.V. Fechners work (Fechner 1999, 8-10).
It is worthwhile to describe once more the barrow
burial -301 in connection with new nds from the
cemeteries of Kiev and Pskov where chamber burials
have been found whose rites and grave goods are
similar to those of Gnzdovo (see Mikhailov in ATN
47), and to outline the characteristics of textiles found
in it.
Barrow -301 was situated on the southern boundary
of the Central Barrow Group of the Gnzdovo site.
The barrow was a low, slightly eroded sand mound,
circular in plan, with a small hollow on the top.
The later was taken at rst for a trace of a 19th-
century excavation pit. The barrow mound covered
a rectangular pit measuring 3 3 0.8 m which was
dug after scorching the earth or burning a small re.
Remains of a dovetailed timber structure measuring
2.3 2.25 m were revealed on the botom of the pit.
An uninterrupted layer of wood decay up to 0.1
m wide was traced along the contour of the walls
to the height of 0.3 m. The structure was probably
even higher since separate areas of wood decay
were recorded in the upper layers of the pit lling.
It was apparently covered with wooden planking,
in a northsouth orientation. Planks are 0.1-0.2 m
wide and up to 0.03 m thick. The beter preserved
ooring of the chamber was completely uncovered. It
consisted of planks 0.15-0.25 m wide and up to 0.05 m
thick placed directly on the virgin-soil botom of the
pit (Fig. 1). The chamber oor had been seemingly
covered with birch-bark whose remains were traced
in the northern part of the structure. Scatered beads
(50 items), a cross-shaped pendant cut of sheet
silver with poinonn decoration, and a fragment of
a bronze equal-armed brooch in a very bad state of
preservation were lying on the oor almost at the
centre of the chamber. Southwest of the necklace
remains, near the west wall of the timber structure,
there were the handle, iron hoops and loops of a
truncated-cone-shaped wooden bucket lying on its
side, and a small wheel-thrown pot with a linear
decorative patern. The remains of two birch-bark
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Archaeological Textiles Newsleter No. 53 36
discs, one whole and one half, measuring 27 cm in
diameter, lay to the southeast of the jewellery. The
discs are displaced with respect to one other, and
both have small holes along their edges, as if for
ataching the cloth walls, resulting in a combination-
material box. The halved disc was partially covering
the fabric bundle put in the box. The upper layer
of the bundle was visually identied during the
excavation as a coarse wool fabric. Inside the bundle,
there were fragments of an oval bronze brooch
and an imprint of a small round cup, probably of
wood. Near the bundle but somewhat nearer to the
south-east corner of the burial chamber, there were
two wax candles standing vertically almost to the
height of 0.05 m over the upper planking. Judging
from a very thin ring of wood decay some 25 cm
in diameter traced around the candles, they were
originally placed in a hollowed out wooden vessel.
Nine additional candles, either intact or broken, were
found on the oor in the eastern part of the timber
structure. The majority of candles had a melted end.
The burial was identied as a female one of
Scandinavian type, with the corpse in a siting
position, and was dated to the 970s AD (Avdusin and
Pushkina 1989, 200, 203).
Methodology
- Microscopy in non-polarized light (-10) with
10 to 40 lenses was used to determine the structure
of fabrics and plaited articles.
- Optic microscopy in reected and transmited
polarized light (--212) with 100 to 400
lenses was used to determine the nature of textile
bres. Permanent immersion preparations in Canada
balsam were made for the purpose.
- Organic base of gilt threads was studied by
histochemical, microchemical and microscopic
methods. Investigations were carried out by O.
Lantratova, leading research fellow of the Restoration
Department of the State Historical Museum
(Moscow).
- Textile dyes were analysed by E. Karpova at
the N.N. Vorozhtsov Novosibirsk Institute of
Organic Chemistry using high performance
liquid chromatography (HPLC), in extractions
of mixture ethanol:water:complex DTPA and
dimethylformamid.
- The chemical composition of metal was dened by
means of remote X-ray-uorescent method with the
aid of ArtTAX device (Rntgenanalysen-Technik).
The analyses were carried out by N. Eniosova at the
Fig. 1. Plan of -301 burial at
Gnzdovo 1982:
1: candles
2: necklace with cross
3: bucket and pot
4: textile bundle
5: fragments of two birch-bark discs.
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37 Archaeological Textiles Newsleter No. 53
Archaeology Department of the History Faculty of
Lomonosov State University (Moscow).
Material
Investigation included the following: fragments of
Dress 1, fragments of Dress 2, fragments of silk fabric,
fragments of linen dress, fragments of sprang, and
fragments of wool fabric.
Dress 1
Dress fragments were restored by A. Elkina,
the restorer of the Russian Research Institute of
Restoration, so by the time of analysis we had to
deal with washed, smoothed out items, which were
reinforced with white thread. The drawings enabled
us to reconstruct the main outline of the dress (Fig.
2). It is a tunic-shaped waisted gown with widening
skirt and long sleeves with cus. A collar fragment
8 cm high has survived on its back. Its width with
sleeves is slightly over 2 m.
2
The full length of the
dress cannot be determined; the maximum length of
the surviving part is 89 cm. The dress is made from a
fabric with a decorative patern embroidered with gilt
threads. The main patern is placed on front and back
parts above the waist while the skirt bears paterned
horizontal stripes. Similar stripes run along the
sleeves. The entire right sleeve consisting of two parts
measuring 40 and 20 cm respectively has survived.
As to the left sleeve, its surviving part measures 50
cm in length. A deep pleat is visible on the back.
Collar and cus were cut from undecorated parts of
fabric. A small inner fold divides the collar in two
parts in the proportion of 1:2.
While the reconstruction of the back is secure, that
of the front part is not straightforward. The major
issue is the shape of the neck. A surviving fragment
of its left piece measuring 12 cm ran along the central
axis of the article, at a distance of 12.5 cm from the
shoulder line. Fabric, slightly folded at this place,
bears traces of a seam, which is indicative of a lined
selvedge. The botom part is fully spread and has
punctured holes along the line of fold. It enables
us to surmise that the dress had a vertical slit at
the centre going down for some 24-25 cm from
the shoulder line. It is worth noting, however, that
fragments of the garment were restored and any folds
smoothed out. It is therefore not inconceivable that
the garment could either have been worn open or
have an additional ap on the right side.
The right ap has a seam running across it at a
slight angle to the horizontal line below the sleeve
and slightly below the main decorative patern. The
surviving part of the seam measures 2 cm, which
does not permit us to reconstruct the juncture line
with certainty.
A small fragment of the same fabric without
decorative patern (13 10 cm) has a tucked selvedge
and remnants of a hidden seam, 7 cm from the edge;
it is indicative of a closed vertical edge of a lined
article. The fragment bears no decoration, so it was
situated either above or below the narrow decorative
stripe. It has a selvedge, so it cannot be a slit at the
centre of a weaving piece. Having analyzed several
alternatives, we chose the most obvious explanation:
the fragment is a part of a side vent. We hence
conclude that the gown was long, had two decorated
stripes on the skirt and side vents (Fig. 3). The
surviving parts of the hidden seam on the fragments
under consideration and on the sleeves imply that the
article was lined; the lining covered the reverse side
completely but did not survive.
The decorative patern is distributed top to botom
as follows: the area with the main decoration is 75
cm wide, then there is an area without decoration 33
cm wide, followed by a decorated area 18 cm wide,
after which the surviving cloth ends. The main image
is placed symmetrically along the vertical axis of the
cloth. The composition is arranged around a disc,
which can be regarded as a celestial body, either
the moon or the sun, or as a big pearl. The most
visible gure is that of a siting gri n, a mythical
beast with the head and wings of a bird of prey
and the body of a lion. A scaled stripe runs near
its jaws; it is probably a part of the body of another
mythical creature, a dragon. The dragon disappears
in the clouds above the gri n, and reappears on
the other side of the disc. The head of the dragon
is depicted showing its mouth, an ear, a horn and
hair behind the ears. Other parts of the head cannot
be identied with certainty. Thus, the fabric design
features the siting gri n probably holding a paw of
the dragon ying into the clouds (Fig. 4). The gri n
has characteristic Mediterranean traits while the
dragon is typical of China. The amalgamation of the
two traditions is only natural since the adoption of
occidental ornamental motifs by Chinese silk weavers
began already in the rst centuries of the Common
Era (Lubo-Lesnichenko 1994, 189-211; Liu 1996, 18).
The decorated stripe consists of ve narrower bands:
two composed of gurative festoons, two narrow and
plain, and a central band bearing oral decoration
(Fig. 5).
It seems likely that the same patern was used in
decoration of a Chinese gown of the Yuan period
(Fig. 6), where the bodice is covered with a patern
featuring dragons down to the waist, while decorated
stripes run over the skirt and along the sleeves (Feng
and Lin 2005, 219). A stripe some 20 cm wide runs
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Archaeological Textiles Newsleter No. 53 38
Fig. 2. Dress 1
1. Drawing of surviving fragments and reconstruction of dress cut.
2. Reconstruction of the front part of dress.
. Fabric section with seam running across right ap.
. Fabric section along the line of central vent.
. Tucked selvage bearing holes punctured with needle;
b. Unfolded selvage with holes running along the line continuing that of tucking of the
upper part the selvage.
(Photo: Authors).
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39 Archaeological Textiles Newsleter No. 53
Fig. 3. Alternative reconstructions of dress: A Two variants of front view; B Back view.
over the shoulders of many surviving Mongolian
gowns of the 13th century AD. Usually such a
stripe bears decoration featuring a pseudo-Kuc
inscription. The original style called intertwined
Kuc was elaborated in eastern provinces of Iran
in the 11th century AD (Folsach 1993, 45). A study
of a female gown from the Marjani collection has
shown that a cloth piece with starting and nishing
border
3
was used to make the garment. The stripe
with a pseudo-Kuc inscription runs at 10 cm from
the end of the woven piece. It can be surmised that
a similar stripe on the 10th-century AD garment
under study was wider and illustrated a particular
story. In this case the wide stripe showing the dragon
and the gri n would have been placed at the end
of the weave. Therefore a horizontal seam whose
remains have survived on the left ap would have
run somewhere near the waist on the front of the
gown. With this assumption, all narrow decorative
stripes would have been spaced evenly. Then, if
there were two of them on the skirt, the gown was
approximately 1.40 m long (Fig. 7).
Structurally the cloth of the gown belongs to the
fabrics with additional stripes of gilt weft introduced
in the ground weave. Gilt threads cover the
background of the main decorative design almost
completely. The image is outlined by thin threads of
the warp-faced weave. The distribution of ground
and supplementary threads in the decorative stripe is
approximately even.
Fig. 4. Partial reconstruction of large stripe
of decorative patern.
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Archaeological Textiles Newsleter No. 53 40
Fig. 5. Drawing of narrow
decorated stripe.
Fig. 6. Mongolian noblewoman
(After Silk 2005, 219).
Fig. 7. Reconstruction of
apportionment of dress cut
on fabric. Fabric width 80
cm, length 4 m.
A: front
B: back
C: front part of skirt
D: sleeves.
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41 Archaeological Textiles Newsleter No. 53
selvedge on the paterned areas. The same technique
and design can be seen on 13th-century AD brocade
fabrics, for instance, those from the Maiachnyi Bugor
II cemetery (kept in the State Historical Museum,
Moscow; see ATN 52).
Silk warp and weft threads are red. The bre was
dyed with madder before being spun. The cloth
contained 74 % of alizarin, 24 % of purpurin and 0.8
% of anthragallol. Thus, the original colour of the
fabric was red with a warm orange tint. The core of
gilt threads was left undyed.
The provenance of the fabric from Dress 1
In the 10th century AD, silk fabrics could have
been manufactured in China, India, Central Asia,
Asia Minor, Iran and Byzantium (Liu 1996, 20-22,
124). Dierent gilt threads, however, were used for
brocades in dierent regions, and their characteristics
have been used as a guideline in atribution of
provenance to fabrics (Falke 1921, 50-57). Thus,
fabrics with gilt threads of serous membrane of
animal intestines do not appear in the West before the
11th century AD (Sobolev 1934, 53-54; Fekhner 1982,
64; Blanco 1998, 20), therefore the cloth under study
could not have been manufactured in Byzantium.
Persian brocades
4
(Owen-Crocker 1986, 187) could
have reached northern Europe at that time. It is
believed, however, that it was not pure gold but gilt
Technical analysis of the Dress 1 fabric (Fig. 8)
Warp: red silk, single, z-twisted, 0.1-0.3 mm thick.
Dcochement: 2 ground warps. Thread count: 40
threads/cm.
Weft: Ground: red silk, without twist, 0.3-0.5 mm
thick. Thickness of threads is uneven, at some places
weft threads are up to 0.8 mm thick. Supplementary:
gold thread composed of gilt strips of serous
membrane of animal intestines (thin and somewhat
translucent) Z-wrapped around a yellow silk core,
z-twisted. The diameter of the thread measures
0.3-0.5 mm, guilt strip is 0.5-0.6 mm wide. Threads
function in pairs. Proportion: 2 ground threads/a pair
of supplementary weft threads. Pick: 1 ground weft,
a pair of supplementary weft threads, 1 ground weft.
Thread count: 18 threads of ground and 9 paired
threads of supplementary weft per cm.
Weave: weft-paterned. Ground: tabby.
Supplementary: weave of even warp threads with
the supplementary weft 1/5 Z twill (gold wefts
bound in pairs). Gilt threads are not fastened on the
reverse side. Selvedges: weft threads were cut along
the edge of the piece yet some gilt threads were left
uncut (loops). The selvedge, equipped with loops
and fringe, implies that the width of the fabric on the
loom was regulated by the outer thick threads of the
warp, removed after the fabric was taken out from
the loom. A thin stripe of gilt threads runs along the
Fig. 8. Brocade fabric of Dress 1
1: Microphotograph of fabric
(right side).
2: Microphotograph of silk
bres.
3 and 4: Diagram of twills;
A-A section towards warp
threads.
5: Diagram of passe; 1 gilt
threads; 2 silk weft threads.
(Photo: Authors).
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Archaeological Textiles Newsleter No. 53 42
silver or other alloys that were used for making gilt
threads in Iran (Bolshakov 2001, 259-260; Wat 1997,
127-141; Wardwell 1992, 371), while the use of pure
gold was typical for China (Wardwell 1992, 371; Jinke
2006, 129-145; Lantratova et al. 2002, 245-249). Besides
metal composition, the core thread used to wrap
the gilt strip around is an important characteristic
of gilt threads. Thus, coton thread could have been
used for this purpose in Iran in the 7th-8th centuries
AD (Lubo-Lesnichenko 1994, 202). However, this
criterion cannot be used as a basic guideline for lack
of information on the other centres of production.
It is agreed that the broch (brocaded) and lanc
(weft-paterned) techniques originated from China
(Jonghe 1991, 100). To sum up, based on its technical
characteristics, it can be surmised that the cloth was
manufactured in North China.
The question of the place of making of the garment
is no less intriguing. A search for analogies in the
Chinese archaeological record led us to four gowns
of the 8th-12th centuries AD (Rossi and Rossi 2004,
12-14; Zheng 2007, 98; Feng 2007, 99). Their outline
is close to that of the garment (Fig. 9), yet they are
unfastened wrap-around garments. A fragment of a
dolls garment from Astana (Fig. 10) dated to the 9th
century AD is also of prime interest in this connection
(Min 2006, 224, Fig. 160). We have also succeeded
in nding a triangular-necked non-wrap-around
shirt-waist gown, although it is a more recent type
Fig. 9. Drawing of
wraparound dress of the
Liao dynasty (After Rossi
and Rossi 2004, 17).
Fig.10. Fragment of doll dress from the Astona
cemetery (After Min 2006, 224 Fig. 160).
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43 Archaeological Textiles Newsleter No. 53
Technical analysis of the Dress 2 fabric (Fig. 12)
Warp: red silk, z-twist, single and paired, single
threads are 0.1-0.2 mm thick. Dcochement:
unidentied. Thread count: 40 threads/cm.
Weft: Ground: red silk, without twist; 0.4-0.6 mm
thick. Supplementary: did not survive. The analysis
of metal has shown that there is an admixture of lead
in gold. Combination of wefts and the sequence of
pick cannot be identied. Thread count: 18 ground
weft threads/cm.
Weave: weft-paterned. Ground: louisine/extended
tabby. Supplementary: unidentied. Warp threads
are distributed as follows: two paired threads, two
single; two paired, two single, etc. Selvedges: 16 side
threads of the warp consist of four threads each. In
one of the selvedges two thick threads on the border
with the main cloth consist of 6 threads each. Weft
threads turn along the edge of the cloth. Gilt threads
probably turned before reaching the selvedge.
The material was dyed with madder in the hank. The
ratio of alizarin (78 %) and purpurin (19 %) is similar
to that of the Dress 1 fabric.
The decorative stripe is 3 cm wide. We succeeded in
partially reconstructing the design.
Technical analysis of the trim of Dress 2
Warp: red silk, weak z-twist, paired, the single thread
is 0.1 mm thick. Dcochement: 2 paired ground warps.
Thread count: 46 threads/cm.
Fig. 11. Surviving fragments of Dress 2. 1: main fabric; 2: trimming fabric; 3: supposed outline of dress cut
(Photo: Authors).
(Gold 2005, 57). All the above comparisons enable us
to surmise that the garment under study was made
in China. However, non-wrap-around tunic-shaped
oriental form of garment with a ared outline
was characteristic of contemporaneous Iran and
Byzantium as well (Norris 1999, 151, 259, 267, 274).
Therefore, the possibility of the garment having been
made from a Chinese cloth in Iran or the Byzantine
Empire cannot be ruled out. Brocade garments from
Byzantium are mentioned in Scandinavian literature
of the 10th century AD (Krag 2007, 241). The garment
is unlikely to have been made from a whole piece of
brocade fabric in northwest Europe.
Dress 2
Only a few fragments of the second red-fabric
garment have survived in good condition. The two
largest pieces can be recombined into a bodice with
a pronounced neckline (Fig. 11). There are small
fragments of side seams connecting the bodice with
sleeves, hence the conclusion that the garment had
sleeves. A V-shaped neck is marked with a cloth strip
3 cm wide with a minute design. Lining fabric has
survived on the reverse side.
The decorative patern on the main fabric was
probably embroidered with at gilt threads, of which
only traces of gilding have survived. Small holes of
gilt threads are indicative of a complex design. Sadly,
we have not succeeded in reconstructing it.
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Archaeological Textiles Newsleter No. 53 44
Weft: Ground: red silk, without twist; 0.4 mm thick.
Thickness of threads is uneven, at some places weft
threads are up to 0.8 mm thick. Supplementary: gold
thread composed of gilt strips of serous membrane
of animal intestines Z-wrapped around a yellow silk
core, z-twisted. The diameter of the thread measures
0.2-0.4 mm, guilt strip is 0.6-0.7 mm wide. The metal
thread coat shows a small admixture of copper and
bromine resulting from remelting. Threads are
single. Proportion: 1 ground weft, 1 supplementary
weft. Pick: 1 ground weft, 1 supplementary
weft. Thread count: 18 threads of ground and
supplementary weft per cm.
Weave: weft-paterned. Ground: tabby.
Supplementary: unidentied. Gilt threads have no
additional fastening on the areas with minuscule
design.
At present the fabric is brown but dye analysis
has shown that it had been red and contained less
alizarin (53 %) and more purpurin (36 %) than the
main cloth. Consequently, the trim fabric was of more
intense scarlet colour than the main fabric of Dress 2.
Technical analysis of the lining of Dress 2
Warp: light brown silk, weak z-twist, paired, single
and paired threads, the single thread is 0.1-0.2 mm
thick. Thread count: 48 threads/cm.
Weft: light brown silk, without twist; 0.2-0.3 mm
thick. Thread count: 26 weft threads/cm.
Weave: louisine/extended tabby. Combination of
warps is similar to that of the main fabric of this
garment: two paired and two single threads.
The weave of the lining cloth has much in common
with the ground weave of Dress 2. It is the similarity
of the two dierent fabrics that enables one to
surmise that both fabrics were manufactured at the
same centre, having its own mechanism of securing
threads on the loom. And since two fabrics of the
same provenance are combined to form a single
garment, it seems likely that the article in question
was made not far from the place of manufacture of
these fabrics.
The silk fabric with discs
The fabric survives in two fragments. A decorative
patern in the shape of discs positioned at a distance
of 9.5 cm from each other has survived on the larger
fragment (8 x 23 cm). Flowers forming a tree of life
are depicted within the discs.
Technical analysis of the fabric with discs (Fig. 13)
Warp: red silk, weak z-twist, single, 0.1 mm thick.
Dcochement: 2 warps. Thread count: 32 threads/cm.
Weft: red silk, without twist; 0.3-0.6 mm thick.
Thickness of threads is uneven; it depends on
the presence or absence of design in stripes.
Fig. 12. Fabrics of Dress 2
1: Microphotograph of brocade fabric of
Dress 2
2: Diagram of ground twill (threads of
supplementary weft are lost but traces of
gilt survived on remaining threads.)
3: Microphotograph of trimming fabric
4: Diagram of trimming fabric twill
(Photo: Authors).
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45 Archaeological Textiles Newsleter No. 53
Supplementary: gold thread is composed of gilt
strips of serous membrane of animal intestines (thin
and somewhat translucent) Z-wrapped around
a yellow silk core, z-twisted. The diameter of the
thread measures 0.2-0.3 mm, gilt strip is 0.5-0.6
mm wide. Threads are single. Proportion: 1 ground
weft/1 supplementary weft. Pick: 1 ground weft, 1
supplementary weft. Thread count: 18 threads/cm.
Weave: brocaded on tabby. Selvedge: 8 warp threads
are thinned out. Weft threads were cut along the
edge.
It is impossible to reconstruct the garment to which
the two above-mentioned fragments belonged. The
fragments were washed and smoothed out and there
are no traces of seams. If there was no sewing along
the edge, the cloth could have been used as a shawl,
scarf or veil.
The linen dress
Fragments of a linen cloth belong to a single garment
made from undyed and dyed blue fabrics. All
pieces were washed and partially smoothed out,
which made them less informative. In the course
of the analysis linen fragments were divided into
groups according to their shape and type of fabric.
Fragments of the rst group are narrow stripes of
a ne blue cloth with torn o ends and traces of
numerous folds (Fig. 14). The overall length of the
surviving fragments measures over 2 m along the
weft.
5
Judging from a fragment measuring 50 cm in
length up to the selvedge, the textile was at least 50
cm wide. Traces of folds are unevenly distributed.
The second group is formed by two fragments
belonging to two fabrics, a thick light and a ne
blue one, sewn together (Fig. 15), with the thread
passing through folded edges of the fabrics. Folds
strengthened with additional seams were made on
the ne cloth. The fragments show that the folds on
the ne cloth are distributed unevenly along the line
of joint with the undyed coarse fabric. It seems likely
that these are fragments of the waist-part of the gown
while the fragments of the rst group belong to the
skirt.
A fragment of an undyed thick cloth probably
belongs to the neck-part (Group 3). It has folds on one
side and several seams. Two more layers of a similar
cloth are sewn on the main fabric in the lower part
of the fragment; these were probably patches (Fig.
16). The interpretation of this fragment is, however,
debatable. The bow-shaped seam-line and the fact
that the outer layer of the cloth is folded on the
face cannot be explained. Remains of blue threads,
probably of a blue-fabric bolster which underlined
the edge of the cloth, have survived along the upper
edge of the fragment with folds. A similar treatment
of the neck is recorded for a linen gown from Pskov
(Zubkova et al. 2009, 293-300).
Group 4 includes fragments of the ne cloth not
showing blue colour. The lack of colour may be
accounted for by the fading of the dye due to the low
quality of cloth dyeing. Fragments belonging to this
group are generally torn o on all sides, yet one of
them has a clear slanting cut. Such a cut could have
been encountered on the bodice if the outline of the
gown was similar to that of Dress 1, on the skirt if it
had gores, or on tapering sleeves.
The data available are not su cient for an
unambiguous reconstruction of the linen gown. We
suggest the following provisional reconstruction.
The gown is a shirt-waister with the junction either
Fig. 13. Fabric with discs
1: Drawing of decorative patern
2: Microphotograph of fabric (right
side) (Photo: Authors).
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Archaeological Textiles Newsleter No. 53 46
Fig. 14. Fragments of linen dress, Group 1 (Photo: Authors).
Fig. 15. Fragment sewn together of two fabrics,
Group 2 (Photo: Authors).
Fig. 16. Drawing of dress fragment, Group 3.
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47 Archaeological Textiles Newsleter No. 53
at the waistline or somewhat lower. Its upper part
is light-coloured and the lower one is blue. The skirt
is made from several, at least four, pieces of cloth
made into small folds unevenly distributed along
the joint of skirt and bodice. Probably the main folds
were concentrated on the sides. The sleeves were
seemingly long and made from a ne blue fabric.
The collar was folded into pleats and sewn onto a
bolster of a ne blue cloth. Based on the dimensions
of the neck cut in a straight line (35 cm along weft
threads to one side), the gown had shoulder pieces.
The use of fabrics of dierent quality implies that
the upper part of the gown made from inferior-
quality cloth was covered with another garment,
allowing only the blue skirt and, possibly, the
sleeves to be seen.
Description of tabby fabrics (Fig. 17)
The thick fabric.
Warp: undyed linen, z-twist, single, 0.2-1 mm thick.
Thread count: 8 threads/cm.
Weft: undyed linen, z-twist, single, 0.2-1 mm thick.
Thread count: 8 threads/cm.
Warp and weft threads show a wide scater of
thickness and an uneven dcochement of the twist.
Linen raw material is of poor quality; there are hard
remains of plant stems in the threads.
The ne fabric:
Warp: blue linen, z-twist, single, 0.2-0.5 mm thick.
Thread count: 16 threads/cm.
Weft: blue linen, z-twist, single, 0.2-0.5 mm thick.
Thread count: 12 threads/cm.
The nished fabric was dyed with indigo, a blue vat
dye. The thickness of threads and the degree of twist
are uneven, yet the quality of threads is higher than
that of the thick fabric.
No complete 10th-century AD linen gowns have
been found so far, but a comparison of the fragments
of the two 10th-century AD gowns, one from Pskov
(Zubkova et al. 2010, 293-300) and another from
Gnzdovo is given in Table 1.
Female shirt-waisters made from two types of fabrics
and dated to the 13th century AD were found at
Toropets and Iziaslavl in Russia (Saburova 1987, 102,
Table 86).
Samite silk fabric
Samite fragments are narrow strips some 5.5 cm
wide. One side of a strip is folded, while the other
is hemmed with an edging of the same cloth. A
similar treatment of strips was recorded for the trim
of a linen article from a chamber burial in Pskov
(Zubkova et al. 2010, 161).
Samite: 1/2 twill S. The ratio of the main to binding
warp is 2:1. There are at least two weft threads, one of
which is either blue or green.
Fig. 17. Microphotographs of linen fabrics. 1: thick fabric; 2: ne fabric (Photo: Authors).
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Archaeological Textiles Newsleter No. 53 48
Sprang
Two small fragments have survived. The article was
made from linen threads (S2z-twist, 1 mm thick) in
sprang technique (Fig. 18).
Excavated fragments of sprang have been
encountered in Scandinavia on the sites dated as
early as the Bronze Age. The technique was used
mainly to make female headdresses. The fragments in
question are, however, so small that it is impossible
to say what article they belonged to.
A fragment of a wool fabric
2/2 twill Z (Fig. 19). A brown cloth is made from wool
threads of uneven thickness and z-twist. The average
thread count is 14/12 threads/cm.
Summary
Our analysis suggests that the box from Burial
-301 contained three garments made from Chinese
brocades. Two of them were probably gowns of
Chinese manufacture, though they could have been
made from Chinese cloth in Iran or the Byzantine
Table 1. Characteristics of two 10th-century AD gowns.
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49 Archaeological Textiles Newsleter No. 53
Empire, while the third, showing no traces of cuting
and tailoring could be a scarf, shawl or veil. There
was also a linen shirt-waister gown with a blue skirt
in the box. The gown was probably worn beneath a
kind of blouse so that only the skirt was visible. It is
not clear whether a samite strip is a trim of this gown,
but, judging from the treatment of selvedge, if it
were so the trim would run along the hem. Since the
complete articles were not worn by the deceased but
found in the box, it is unknown whether they make
up a set.
The wool fabric could be a part of a cloak/veil, but
this interpretation is not unambiguous as the shape
of the article cannot be reconstructed.
It is worth noting that the collar of the brocade Dress
1 is divided by an inner fold into two parts in the
ratio 1:2. The same division is recorded for collars
from burials in the Dmitrov kremlin dated to the 12th
century AD (Ornskaya et al. 2009, 10-16) and for
trimming of gown collars of the Golden Horde period
(Lantratova et al. 2002, 26, 78, Fig. 6.1.14). It may be
due to the inuence of Chinese tradition adopted in
the north and manifested in the treatment of certain
costume details. Gri ns
6
and dragons having come
from the south could inuence the depiction of
local mythical beasts. This nd demonstrates the
complexity of interaction of occidental and oriental,
northern and southern cultures.
Notes
1. Information about the Gnzdovo archaeological
site is available on the websites
htp://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/_
and www.gnezdovo.com.
2. The width of the bodice measures 80 cm and two
sleeves measure 60 cm each. The width of the cu
cannot be determined.
3. A piece is a unit of cloth needed to cut a single long
gown reaching down to ones ankles (Fekhner 1982,
57). Such a piece is woven whole and has the starting
and nishing borders which, like side selvedges,
dier from the main cloth.
4. The term Persian does not mean that these fabrics
were manufactured in Iran. They could have been of
foreign origin yet bought on the Persian market.
5. The length of the fragments is as follows:
72+13+38+7+7+6+8+5+48+10 = 214 cm.
6. Northern Europe has yielded diverse fabrics with
gri ns (Owen-Crocker 1986, 187). These are mainly
Byzantine samites.
Original text translated by S. Kullanda.
Fig. 18. Fragment of article
in sprang technique (Photo:
Authors).
Fig. 19. Diagram of textile twill of wool fabric.
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Archaeological Textiles Newsleter No. 53 50
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Corresponding author: oro@yandex.ru